Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video pkg (0:57) is in the downloads at the end of the post.
Please 'Courtesy: Mayo Clinic News Network.' Read the script.

Health officials say it's outstanding news that the rate of cancer and cancer deaths in the U.S. is on a steady decline.

"We are winning the war, but we're not quite ready to declare a victory just yet," says Dr. Jan Buckner, a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist.

Dr. Buckner says there are two primary reasons for the reduced cancer rate.

"One is increased screening and prevention of cancer," he says. "And the other is continually better treatments after a patient is diagnosed."

He says it's no coincidence it's happening as the number of Americans who smoke and use tobacco continues to drop. But there's still more work to be done.

"If we could also work on the obesity epidemic, that would help reduce the rates even further," says Dr. Buckner.

And he's optimistically looking to the future of cancer care.

"I think we will be able to detect cancers earlier — get them when they're more curable," says Dr. Buckner. "I am also optimistic that, even after a cancer diagnosis, we will be able to continue to increase the cure rate or control rate for many, many years."

The post Mayo Clinic Minute: Winning the war on cancer appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the Mayo Clinic Radio podcast, Katherine Zeratsky, a Mayo Clinic registered dietician nutritionist, discusses the keto diet and compares it with other popular diet plans, including the Mediterranean diet; Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, also known as the "DASH diet"; and the Mayo Clinic diet. Also on the podcast, Dr. Tobias Kohler, a Mayo Clinic urologist, explains why vasectomy rates rise in March. And Dr. Jan Buckner, chair of Oncology at Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minnesota, campus, discusses why deaths from cancer in the U.S. continue a 25-year decline.

The post #MayoClinicRadio podcast: 2/16/19 appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Katherine Zeratsky, a Mayo Clinic registered dietician nutritionist, will discuss the keto diet and compare it with other popular diet plans, including the Mediterranean diet; Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, also known as the "DASH diet"; and the Mayo Clinic diet. Also on the program, Dr. Tobias Kohler, a Mayo Clinic urologist, will explain why vasectomy rates rise in March. And Dr. Jan Buckner, chair of Oncology at Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minnesota, campus, will discuss why deaths from cancer in the U.S. continue a 25-year decline.

Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

The post Keto and other diets / vasectomy / U.S. cancer deaths declining: Mayo Clinic Radio appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Katherine Zeratsky, a Mayo Clinic registered dietician nutritionist, will discuss the keto diet and compare it with other popular diet plans, including the Mediterranean diet; Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, also known as the "DASH diet"; and the Mayo Clinic diet. Also on the program, Dr. Tobias Kohler, a Mayo Clinic urologist, will explain why vasectomy rates rise in March. And Dr. Jan Buckner, chair of Oncology at Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minnesota, campus, will discuss why deaths from cancer in the U.S. continue a 25-year decline.

To hear the program, find an affiliate in your area.

Miss the show? Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

Use the hashtag #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Access archived shows or subscribe to the podcast.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Popular diet trends appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Keto and other diets / vasectomy / U.S. cancer deaths declining appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

The named professors are:

Jennifer Westendorf, Ph.D., a researcher in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, has received the Margaret Amini Professorship in Orthopedic Regenerative Medicine Research. She also serves as vice chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and as a professor at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in biology and biochemistry/molecular biology and orthopedics.

Margaret Redfield, M.D., a cardiologist in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Internal Medicine, has been recognized as the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Professor in Cardiology and Critical Care. She is also the director of Mayo’s Circulatory Failure Program and co-director of the Cardiorenal Research Laboratory.

MEDIA CONTACT: Karl Oestreich, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu.

Mark McNiven, Ph.D., is a researcher in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the clinic’s Department of Internal Medicine. He has been named the George M. Eisenberg Professorship and Bernard Pollack Professorship. He also serves as director for the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and director of the Mayo Center for Biomedical Discovery.

James Maher, III, Ph.D., a researcher in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and dean of Mayo Graduate School, has been awarded theGeorge M. Eisenberg Professorship and Bernard Pollack Professorship.

Lewis Roberts, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., is a physician in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the Department of Internal Medicine. He has received the Peter and Frances Georgeson Professorship in Gastroenterology Cancer Research.

Daniel Billadeau, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Oncology Research, has been recognized as the Edmond A. and Marion F. Guggenheim Professor. He has joint appointments in the Department of Medical Oncology and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and holds the academic rank of professor of immunology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

Jae Oh, M.D., is a cardiologist in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases. He has been named the Samsung Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases in recognition of his research and work, which includes current appointments as director of the Echocardiography Core Laboratory, director of the Pericardial Disease Clinic, and co-director of Integrated Cardiac Imaging. He is also a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

Fergus Couch, Ph.D., chair of the Division of Experimental Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and professor of laboratory medicine and pathology, has been awarded the Zbigniew and Anna M. Scheller Professorship of Medical Research. He is jointly appointed in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Department of Health Sciences Research. In 2013, he was named Mayo Clinic Investigator of the Year. The Investigator of the Year Award is presented to individuals who have made a significant advance in practice-changing research, a strong record of extramural funding, and a strong record of research mentorship.

Vincent Rajkumar, M.D., a hematologist in the Division of Hematology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, has received the Edward W. and Betty Knight Scripps Professorship in Medicine in Honor of Dr. Edward C. Rosenow, III. He has joint appointments in the Department of Hematology and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, and serves as chair of the Myeloma, Amyloid, and Dysproteinemia Group for Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

Bradley Leibovich, M.D., is chair for the Department of Urology. He has been awarded the David C. Utz, M.D., Professorship of Urology.

Joseph Dearani, M.D., a cardiovascular surgeon and chair of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, has been recognized as the Sheikh Zayed Professorship in Cardiovascular Diseases Honoring George M. Gura, M.D. He is jointly appointed in the Division of Transplantation Surgery, and is a professor of surgery at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D., a neuroscience researcher at Mayo Clinic in Florida, has been named the Mildred A. and Henry Uihlein, II, Professor of Medical Research. She is a professor of neuroscience at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine with full faculty privileges in neuroscience at Mayo Graduate School.

Claudia Lucchinetti, M.D., is a neurologist and chair of the Department of Neurology, as well as assistant director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Diseases. She is a recipient of the Mary Lowell Leary Professorship. Dr. Lucchinetti recently completed her tenure as chair of the CNBT NIH study section from 2012-2014.

Leonard Petrucelli, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus, has been awarded the Ralph B. and Ruth K. Abrams Professorship, and has full faculty privileges in molecular neuroscience at Mayo Graduate School.

Jan Buckner, M.D., chair of the Department of Oncology, has been recognized as the Betty J. Foust, M.D., and Parents’ Professor. He also serves as deputy director of clinic practice for Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

Mark Stegall, M.D., is a physician with joint appointments in Transplantation Surgery and the Department of Immunology. He has been named the James C. Masson Professor of Surgery Research. He also serves as director of the Transplant Immunology Research Laboratory.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to medical research and education, and providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.com or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.

The post Mayo Clinic awards sixteen named professorships appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

CHICAGO -- A new study presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology suggests that the practice should be reconsidered. More than 650,000 patients a year in the U.S. are diagnosed and treated for cancers that spread to the brain. For about 200,000 of these patients, those with 1-3 small brain metastases, a combination of whole brain radiation therapy and radiosurgery, a highly focused form of radiation therapy, have been the standard of care.

While whole brain radiation therapy improves tumor control it did not improve survival and it was shown to have deleterious effects on patients cognitive abilities. “This is the classic question: Which is worse, the disease or the treatment,?” said Jan Buckner, M.D., an oncologist at Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study. “We used to offer whole brain radiation early on, but we now know that the toxicities of this therapy are worse for the patients than the cancer growth or recurrences in the brain. We expect that practice will shift to reserve the use of whole brain radiation therapy for salvage therapy (used when cancer will not respond to other therapies) and in end-stage palliative care.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Joe Dangor, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005
Email: dangor.yusuf@mayo.edu 

The post Study may change practice of whole brain radiation therapy for limited brain metastases appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Randy Hargrove: 1-800-331-0085 news.walmart.com/reporter

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 7, 2014 – Building on its innovative program that has enhanced the quality of health care for its associates, Walmart announced it is expanding its Centers of Excellence program to include three cancers with Mayo Clinic, one of the nation’s leading health care providers.

Effective Jan. 1, 2015, Walmart associates and family members enrolled in the company’s health reimbursement account plans or health savings account plan who are diagnosed with breast, lung or colorectal cancer can obtain a review of their medical records by Mayo Clinic, and when recommended, receive care covered at 100 percent for on-site visits at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center locations in Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla., or Phoenix, Ariz.

“We are proud to expand our Centers of Excellence with Mayo Clinic to help ensure that our associates and their covered family members who are diagnosed with cancer receive the best care,” said Sally Welborn, senior vice president of global benefits at Walmart. “The three cancers covered under our program are among the most prevalent experienced by associates on our health care plans.”

"We are pleased that Walmart approached us to help its associates diagnosed with breast, colon and lung cancer,” said Jan Buckner, M.D., deputy director for practice at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. “Our coordinated approach to cancer care offers patients the latest advances in treatment in a compassionate and caring environment.”

Walmart’s Centers of Excellence cancer program will provide a review of an associate’s medical record, or their covered family member’s medical record, by Mayo Clinic oncologists following a diagnosis of breast, lung or colorectal cancer. The review will determine if they would benefit from an on-site visit at a Mayo Clinic location. On-site visits will be covered at 100 percent and will include recommended treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery without deductible or coinsurance, plus travel expenses for the patient and a caregiver.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports that breast cancer is the most common type of cancer, with about 235,000 new cases expected in the United States in 2014. Lung cancer, with over 224,000 cases expected this year, and colorectal cancer, with a projected 136,000 new cases in 2014, also rank among the most common cancers in the U.S.

Walmart launched its first-of-a-kind Centers of Excellence program in January 2013, which focused on select spine and cardiac procedures. In 2014, Walmart partnered with the Pacific Business Group on Health to extend the Centers of Excellence program to include knee and hip replacement procedures. Walmart first partnered with Mayo Clinic in 1997 for associates in need of organ transplants.

Walmart remains committed to making healthcare affordable for its associates. Hundreds of associates and their family members have elected to receive Centers of Excellence care since 2013.

###

About Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better -- anytime and anywhere -- in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 250 million customers and members visit our 11,053 stores under 71 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2014 sales of over $473 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.

About Mayo Clinic

Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150 years.mayoclinic.org, http://www.mayoclinic.org/ and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.

The post Walmart Introduces Cancer Care Benefit for Associates at Mayo Clinic appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

NCORP is a national network of cancer investigators, cancer care providers, academic institutions and other organizations that provide care to diverse populations in community-based health care practices across the United States. NCORP will design and conduct trials to improve cancer prevention, cancer control, screening and post-treatment management.

The Alliance research base at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Minnesota will be one of seven research bases across the country that will design and conduct multicenter cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery research. NCORP hubs will also provide overall administration, data management, scientific leadership and regulatory compliance for the NCORP program.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Joe Dangor, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

NCORP includes 34 community sites that will accrue participants to clinical trials conducted by NCORP research bases, NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) treatment and imaging trials, quality-of-life studies, and cancer care delivery research involving patients, practitioners, and health care organizations.

NCORP also includes 12 minority/underserved community sites that will accrue participants in the same way as the community sites but have a patient population comprising at least 30 percent racial and ethnic minorities or rural residents.

“We are honored to have been selected as an NCORP research base,” says Dr. Buckner. “We share NCORP’s commitment to community-based research and increasing access to NCI research for minority, rural and other underserved patient populations.”

The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is part of a national clinical trials network sponsored by NCI. The Alliance comprises nearly 10,000 cancer specialists at hospitals, medical centers and community clinics across the United States and Canada. Through collaboration with the NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN), the Alliance develops and conducts clinical trials with promising new cancer therapies, and utilizes the best science to develop optimal treatment and prevention strategies for cancer, as well as research methods to alleviate side effects of cancer and cancer treatments.

About Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
As a leading institution funded by the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center conducts basic, clinical and population science research, translating discoveries into improved methods for prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. For information on cancer clinical trials, call 1-855-776-0015 (toll-free).

###

About Mayo Clinic
Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150 years.mayoclinic.org, http://www.mayoclinic.org/ and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.

The post Mayo Clinic Investigator to Lead Alliance Research Base for New National, Community-based Cancer Research Initiative appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

A clinical trial co-led by researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and Wake Forest School of Medicine has found that adding chemotherapy following radiation treatment improves survival for adults with low-grade gliomas by approximately five-and- a-half years. Results of the clinical trial were made public today by the National Cancer Institute. Gliomas are tumors that begin in the brain or spinal cord. They are the most common form of primary brain tumor.

Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Buckner are available in the downloads.

“The results of this study are practice-changing,” says co-lead investigator Jan Buckner, M.D., chair of oncology at Mayo Clinic. “Additionally, ongoing analysis of patient tumor samples should allow us to further identify the patients who will and who will not benefit from chemotherapy, taking yet another step toward individualized therapy.”

The post Chemo after Radiation Therapy Improves Brain Cancer Survival appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.